Preparation:

We prepare this recipe in our 6-1/2 quart slow-cooker. It makes about 24 cups of the Armenian style apricot lentil soup, which will also serve 6 to 8 adults as a main meal. It is also great for leftovers so we don’t have to cook every day. The nice thing about preparing this easy and delicious recipe in the slow-cooker is that it gives us time to do other things while it’s cooking. If you want to make a smaller batch, cut the recipe in half.

The lentils can be cooked the evening before if you want to eat the soup for a noon meal, or early in the morning for an evening meal.

Clean and wash the lentils and place them in the container of the slow-cooker with 12 cups of cold water, set the heat to “low”, cover, and simmer for 4 to 6 hours, or until morning if you cook them overnight.

When the lentils are cooked, add the crushed tomatoes and mix well.

Peel and wash the onions, cut into chunks, place them in the container of a high-speed blender, cover, and puree them on high speed for a finished volume of 3 cups. Add to the slow cooker and mix well.

Add the seasonings, and mix well, cover, and let simmer for about 2 hours, and then add the apricot pieces and mix well. Cover, and let the soup simmer for another half hour to an hour.

Serve and enjoy with a large tossed salad.

The left over lentil soup can be stored in the covered crockpot for a few days in the refrigerator.

The above vegan recipe is in keeping with God’s creation intent (Genesis 1:29-31): ‘Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground– everything that has the breath of life in it– I give every green plant for food.” And it was so. God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.’ (NIV) Let no animal suffer or die that we may live